FGM

Susan Hall: Why have there been no recent successful prosecutions for FGM in London?

The Mayor: The despicable practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) has no place in our city and I am working with the MPS to ensure they are working to prosecute those guilty of these crimes.
An important landmark was the first (and only) conviction, nationally, for FGM, which the MPS secured in 2019. This was secured through implementing the lessons learned from three previous unsuccessful prosecutions and listening to the needs of victims and communities.
It should be noted that effective responses to FGM cannot be judged on the success of prosecutions alone. Protecting those vulnerable to FGM is also extremely important and securing successful safeguarding outcomes should not be overlooked.
I will continue to press the MPS to build on their approach to effectively tackling this disgusting crime, improving their investigative standards and increasing their intelligence on cutters to promote prevention opportunities.

County Lines

Shaun Bailey: For each year, Aug 2015 to July 2016, Aug 2016 to July 2017, Aug 2017 to July 2018, Aug 2018 to July 2019, Aug 2019 to July 2020 and Aug 2020 to July 2021, for county lines, how many:
• Arrests have been made
• Children rescued from this crime
• [County Lines have] Been broken

The Mayor: Prior to November 2019 there were no county lines flags on MPS systems to help collate such data. It is therefore not possible to provide any MPS data for the period before November 2019. Without reviewing individual records, even subsequent to November 2019 it is only possible to provide aggregated MPS data.
From November 2019 to July 2021 the MPS, working in collaboration with forces across the country, has closed an estimated 533 lines originating from London, arrested 1,055 individuals linked to county lines offending and safeguarded 491 exploited children.
Since 2018 I have supported young Londoners up to the age of 25 exploited by county lines drugs networks through the Rescue and Response programme, where I have provided £5.7m of investment.

Stanmore Safer Neighbourhood Team

Shaun Bailey: I understand that the Stanmore Safer Neighbourhood Team is going to move to Hatch End despite being offered space in the Stanmore Synagogue and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. Please can you ask the Met to reconsider these offers to keep the team near the community they serve?

The Mayor: The Stanmore Safer Neighbourhood Team is based at Centenary Park and this is expected to be their long term base. The location of Dedicated Ward Officers hubs are arranged in order that the DWO’s begin their shift no more than 20 minutes journey time away from the ward they patrol.
The Met report that they are not aware of the offers from Stanmore Synagogue or the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. If you have further detail of the offers or contacts I will be happy to ask the MPS to assess these.

Police officer injuries

Unmesh Desai: Please advise how many Met officers were injured as a result of their work in each of the last 5 years including 2021 so far. If possible, please provide a breakdown of the severity of these injuries i.e. “seriously injured”, and also include officer fatalities.

The Mayor: The table below shows the number of Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) injuries by severity over the last 5 years.
Year
Minor
Moderate
Serious
Fatal
2016
2422
263
52
0
2017
2457
244
89
1
2018
2430
285
81
1
2019
2745
289
82
0
2020
3063
333
107
1
2021*
1944
198
54
0
*to end of August
Note: this information is based on initial assessment, usually by officers and not medical professionals, therefore injuries may subsequently prove to be more or less serious than first thought.
It is not possible to give exhaustive definitions for each of the injury categories, but examples include: ‘minor’ reddening to skin, ‘moderate’ a cut and ‘serious’ a compound fracture.

GLA (3)

Peter Fortune: Please list how many positions - both vacant and staff in post - there have been at the Greater London Authority each year since 2016?

The Mayor: The number of established total post FTE, vacant and with staff in post, in the GLA as at 31 March 2016 to 31 March 2021 were:
Year
Vacant posts
Staff in post
Establishment
31 March 2016
111
774
885
31 March 2017
128
807
936
31 March 2018
173
897
1070
31 March 2019
186
1008
1194
31 March 2020
153
1137
1290
31 March 2021
222
1099
1321

Belsize Village “Streatery”

Anne Clarke: Will you join me in congratulating Belsize Village on their successful “Streatery”, which has provided an outside seating area for local restaurants, and let to a revitalisation of the town centre? Is this a model for other areas?

The Mayor: Iechoyour congratulationsto Belsize Village.Localcafes andrestaurants contribute to the rich mix of businesses that are integral to London’s high streets. They play a vital roleinLondon’s communities as places of employment and leisurewhichsupport the local day and night-time economy. During the Covid-19 pandemic there have beenmany successful examples of adaptations of outside areasto create more accessible and animated high streets thatsupportlocaleconomicresilience.The London Recovery Board’s High Streets for All mission seeks to build onsuchinnovationsand has invited local partnershipstotest and delivernewapproaches across London todeliver resilient and thriving local high streets.

Safer Neighbourhood Boards (2)

Caroline Russell: How much funding have you awarded to Safer Neighbourhood Boards (SNBs) so far, and to which boroughs? Are you on track to spend all the money allocated?

The Mayor: £700,000 has been allocated in 2021/22 for SNBs. 26 boroughs have submitted bids for funds from this money, with the total amount bid for close to the total allocated. We are on track to provide each SNB with the money they have requested for this Financial Year.

Smart Water (2)

Andrew Boff: For each year financial year, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 how many times has smart water been issued?

The Mayor: The below table shows the number of times SmartWater has been issued during the years requested. Due to recording errors in the MPS the years 2018/19 and 2019/20 cannot be separated.
Financial Year
Kits Delivered
2016/17
137,714
2017/18
130,792
2018/19
93,777
2019/20
April 20-Dec 20
22,237
Total
384,520
The issuing of SmartWater has reduced over the time periods as the delivery moved to a more focussed approach allowing SNTs and local Burglary leads to target smaller hotspot areas. In the most recent period delivery was also impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Leaks of sensitive police data

Unmesh Desai: How many Met police officers have either received disciplinary action, been dismissed or been charged with an offence due to disseminating sensitive police information in each of the last 5 years?

The Mayor: The Centurion system used to record all complaints and allegations of misconduct is a national system and does not allow this level of detail to be extracted.
However, the table below shows the number of allegations categorised as ‘improper disclosure of information’ or that contained ‘information leakage’ that led to formal action.
2017
2018
2019
2020
Jan21-Aug21
Public Complaints
0
2
2
1
0
Conduct Matters
8
14
17
5
1

Domestic Abuse (4)

Sem Moema: How many refuge beds are funded for victims from City Hall and does this meet the current level of need?

The Mayor: The new Domestic Abuse Act, which came into force in April 2021, confers statutory responsibility for the provision of safe, accommodation-based support in London onto the GLA. As a requirement of this, we are conducting a needs assessment across the capital and developing a strategy to address these issues within the funding conferred by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. This includes an interim arrangement to extend funding for existing services until this work is complete, which amounts to 1,527 bedspaces currently.
We believe from speaking to partners that some groups, including Black women and LGBT+ people, currently face barriers in accessing spaces and refuges able to meet their particular needs. The needs assessment we have commissioned will, when completed, provide a clearer evaluation of how well current provision meets the level of need and where there are gaps. This will be published later in the autumn.